Gentle Readers, did you know that almost every pharmacy within North America sells products laden with Salt? If you don't believe me simply read the label on facial creams and hair products and dish washing products. Use a magnifying glass because the ingredients are written for blind Lilliputians in an unknown language, however, in almost every product you will find the word Sodium and variations of Sodium. In other words: Salt. You or your loved one may be spending a fortune buying Salt and if you did not know please allow me to inform you that Salt basically dries out your skin. When skin is dry it itches and that often sends you back to the Pharmacy to buy another product which will, you hope, "fix" the problem. A vicious cycle indeed but Salt is not today's topic. Cancer producing chemicals is today's topic! Read this message from the "Story of Stuff" people.

Dear JOSEPH Raglione,

Procter & Gamble, the largest personal care product company in the world, spends millions using Breast Cancer Awareness Month to advertise its Stuff while refusing to remove cancer-causing chemicals from those same products. Major brands such as Tide, Pantene, Herbal Essence, and CoverGirl are packed with carcinogens and sold to customers without so much as a warning on the label.

Meanwhile, the multi-billion dollar company will only donate $100,000 this year to fighting breast cancer. For P&G this is a marketing gimmick – the company has never made a commitment to protecting its customers from the known carcinogens in its own products and has hidden the danger from them. This month, while the spotlight is on breast cancer, we can hghlight P&G's role in contributing to it and other cancers, ensuring that the company makes a real commitment to protecting its customer's health.

Tell Procter & Gamble to stop its pink ribbon hypocrisy by removing chemicals linked to breast cancer from its products!

Dozens of potentially dangerous chemicals can be found across the spectrum of P&G products. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), recognized as a carcinogen by the state of California, is one such chemical used worldwide. The US National Institutes of Health reports that BHA is "reasonably anticipated" to be a human carcinogen. By putting chemicals linked to cancer in P&G products, the corporation is running a dangerous experiment on human health.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has reviewed the scientific literature on carcinogens and found cancer-causing chemicals in Procter & Gamble products including shampoos, lotions, cosmetics, and hair dyes. The CSC cross-referenced this research with authoritative bodies, including the California Proposition 65 list of chemicals, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the National Toxicology Program (NTP).

Many of the chemicals P&G uses are banned in various places around the world, but the company simply ships its old, dangerous formula to countries with poor regulations. We are calling on P&G to take action now to end the health threat to people worldwide. There is no reason for Procter & Gamble to put cancer-causing chemicals in its personal beauty products when safer alternatives exist.

Tell Procter & Gamble to remove chemicals classified as carcinogens from its personal care products!

P&G has enormous influence over the market -- when Procter and Gamble makes a move on a carcinogen, the rest of the industry moves with it. P&G’s month-long promotion of breast cancer awareness allows it to rake in millions of dollars, which gives us an incredible opportunity.

P&G plasters its products in pink because that signals a powerful Story: the company cares about the health of its consumers, and that it’s on the right side of one of the major health battles of our time. By getting the Story out about P&G’s hypocrisy, we can pressure P&G into cleaning up its act for good. Together, we can help remove tons of toxins annually from the wastestream -- and from our bodies.

Tell Procter & Gamble to put people’s health first by removing carcinogens from its cosmetics!

Thank you for taking action today!
Emma Cape, on behalf of The Story of Stuff team

  

Resources:

Breast Cancer Fund: Chemicals in Cosmetics

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: European Laws

Report on Carcinogens: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011

State of California Environmental Protection Agency: Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity, Jan 3, 2014